Pressure Vessel to Decommission Shillelagh Missiles
Nevada Weapons Test Site

Leavitt Engineering was contracted to design a 10-foot diameter by 36-foot long horizontal ASMA pressure vessel for the Tactical Demilitarization Project at the Nevada Weapons Test Site. The vessel will be a prototype and field demonstration unit used to remove propellant from the small, solid rocket motors used by Shillelagh Missiles.

The vessel included a missile holder, gas conversion chamber, and gas holder tank. The missile holder restrains the disassembled Shillelagh missile during firing operations. The gas holder collects and contains exhaust gases and particulates generated by the motor firing, and is connected to the forward end of the gas conversion chamber.

The project was completed under the direction of Bechtel Nevada, Corp. Design teams from Leavitt & Associates, El Dorado Engineering in Salt Lake City, Utah, and CarFe, Inc., from Elko, Nevada, teamed up to completed the project. The missile holder, gas conversion chamber, and gas holder were fabricated by Coburn Industrial Manufacturing in Chicago, Illinois.

Leavitt Engineering designs, inspects, and tests ASME pressure vessels, AWWA water tanks, API petroleum tanks, and UL-142 tanks.